I think people today assume creatives go to school for their art, and that that’s the only way to do it. I did do plays in school and took classes as a kid and through college, but I decided to be a Philosophy major so I’d have something to bring to my art, and just DID theatre every night for 4 years of college, being in plays and musicals.

I once applied to grad school but didn’t love the program and my husband and I just said, ya know, let’s take that money and build a little theater. And we did. 30 years later, we have had a wonderful entrepreneurial life where we never auditioned, never waiting for someone to approve of a grant or approve of our work. We just kept doing it day in and out and learned on the job. I would take an occasional weekend intensive workshop just to shake things up and learn new things. And of course school and grad school are a totally legit way to go. But I’m just saying this to those of you who might not have the money or opportunity to study your art. Find some mentors! Watch how people do it – online or in person. Go see other kinds of art (film, painting, etc) to inform your kind of art.

I remember one mentor, a big wig in comedy, once said to me and my co-writer/husband Soren, “No! Don’t go back to school! You know what you’re doing and learning those rules now is just going to make you second guess everything and be in your head and screw you up!” Interesting advice we took.

And also remember – you have your own unique skills and experiences that you can put into your creativity. No one has gone through exactly what you have in life. No one has your exact stories. No one has your exact aesthetic. Unless you’re doing ballet, the goal of most art is to be authentic and unique, not to be just like everyone else. It takes the stress of competing out. Enjoy that and use it!

I have a pretty hyphenated career! I am a comedian, self-help author, speaker, summer camp owner, actor, writer, film director, theatre director… I love it all!

I “came up” through theatre, not comedy and they are very different worlds. Comedy is more solitary. But theatre, and the collective spirit, is what I love. I created my troupe Broad Comedy 23 years ago and we’ve gone through many casts and iterations. We travel the country doing fundraisers for women’s health and progressive causes which is a good fit with our political satire shows. We do funny songs and sketches and we’ve put a lot on Youtube on the Broad Comedy channel you can check out.

I also have been speaking for that long. I teach how to use the tools of improv comedy in every day life to handle the unexpected. I love doing interactive keynotes and workshops. Tons of fun and people seem to get a lot of insight into how they operate and how they connect. I like helping people build confidence.

Yes! I’m doing that now a bit. I am also a filmmaker. We just shot “The Karens” about a support group for women named Karen, :) and it’s been doing the festival circuit and it was a blast. I am pivoting to doing more film. A gift from the pandemic where we couldn’t do live tours! :)

When we were stuck and couldn’t go back to the theatre, I went back to learning online from NYU and several cinematography books on how to make films. It was fun going back to a learning frame of mind. I have an incredible mentor who is working with me on my films. He’s a cinematographer and I just absolutely LOVE working with a partner.

I still love live theatre – there’s nothing like a room of people all experiencing something together. But film really gives you the chance to experiment and play and edit and it’s a whole different thing. It’s great learning something new in your 50’s!

I love being able to comment on what’s happening in the world vut through a creative lens. I think comedy is an excellent way to make people wake up and see that’s something’s not okay. It’s an easy way to help people think about an issue without them running away if it’s upsetting. We can step back when we laugh. That helps us make positive change in the world.